South Central Ohio gas prices went down even more this week, decreasing cents to $2.049 a gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Fuel Gauge Report. The national average is $2.179 and the average price during the week of Sept. 14, 2015 was $2.255

On the National Front

Gas prices have fallen for 11 of the past 12 days, reaching today’s average of $2.18 per gallon. Overall gas prices remain lower than last year due to the relatively low price of crude oil with drivers saving an average of 18 cents per gallon compared to a year ago.

The national average price for unleaded gasoline is expected to keep moving lower as we head into fall barring any unexpected disruptions in supply or spikes in the price of crude oil. Pump prices typically decline during this time of year due to lower driving demand after the busy summer driving season has concluded and the changeover from summer-blend to a cheaper-to-produce winter-blend gasoline, which takes place in many parts of the country starting on Sept. 15.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), drivers will continue to benefit from an oversupplied market and AAA predicts that consumers could experience national average prices below $2.00 at the pump if the price of crude oil remains relatively low and refineries are able to conduct planned seasonal maintenance without issue.

Oil prices briefly spiked last week due to the release of an EIA report that stated U.S. crude inventories fell 14.5 million barrels, but quickly retreated when inventory numbers were attributed to import disruption due to tropical storm Hermine. At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate was up $1.74 to settle at $45.88 per barrel.

Here is the price per gallon of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

Athens: $2.058

Chillicothe: $2.011

Columbiana: $1.959

East Liverpool: $2.163

Gallipolis: $2.099

Hillsboro: $2.132

Ironton: $2.012

Jackson: $1.963

Logan: $1.920

Marietta: $2.050

Portsmouth: $2.140

Steubenville: $2.194

Washington Court House: $1.987

Waverly: $2.081